Zapier: upload a file to Google Drive from a URL

To upload a file to Google Drive with Zapier, add Google Drive's Upload File action, which copies an existing file from another service to Drive, and map its File field to a file object from an earlier step or to a file URL. A URL must be publicly accessible and link directly to the file; Zapier downloads it when the step runs.

Zapier's fields and file rules are quoted from its Google Drive integrations page and its help article on sending files; the Sume side comes from Run webhooks and Runs and results. All were read on 2026-09-28. Sume has no Zapier app: the Zap receives a plain signed HTTPS POST.

What does the Upload File action take?

Only File is required. The other fields decide where the copy lands and what it is called:

• Find or Create File takes the same File field plus a Filename to search for, and creates the file only when no match is found.
• Move File, Copy File, and Create Shortcut work on files already in Drive.

Which URLs work in the File field?

Zapier's rule: publicly accessible, with no login, and a direct download link that points at the file, not at a page that displays or previews it. Its check is to open the link in a private browser window: a download prompt means the link can be used, while a login prompt, an error, or a file that loads in the browser means it can't.

• Google Drive sharing links (drive.google.com/file/d/.../view) don't work; Zapier points to the Web Content Link field of a Google Drive step instead.
• Slack file URLs need authentication, and Dropbox or OneDrive preview links open a page instead of the file.
• If the Zap fails with a 403 or the file arrives empty, check that the URL is a direct download link and needs no authentication.
• Several URLs separated by commas arrive as one .zip archive.

How do I save a generated video to Drive?

Start the Zap from the video service's webhook. For a Sume run, Zapier AI video automation builds the receiving Zap: Catch Raw Hook, then a Code step that checks the signature. Then add Upload File, or Find or Create File if a retried delivery must not save a second copy:

• Continue only when event is format.run.terminal and status is OK, which means the run completed.
• File: map payload.primary_output_url. Sume's media URLs are durable media.sume.com HTTPS URLs, public to anyone holding them, so no login stands in the way. Sume's docs don't say whether a browser downloads the file or plays it, so run Zapier's private-window check and test the step with one real run's URL.
• Don't map the /v1/videos/{jobId}/content route: Sume's docs call it with your API key in an Authorization header, which a file field can't send.
• File Name: the envelope's request_id, which equals the run id and stays the same on every retry. With Find or Create File, search for that same name, so a repeat finds the copy it already saved.

What are the limits?

Zapier's file limits apply to the File field:

• Files larger than 100 MB may time out, and Zapier has a 150 MB limit for downloading files from connected apps. Past these, a Zap can fail with ENOSPC: no space left on device or a 400 Bad Request rather than a clear size message.
• File references in test data can expire; if a Zap that worked in testing fails with missing-file errors, re-test the trigger step.
• Why copy at all: Sume's docs say media URLs are public to anyone holding them, and to proxy or copy the files if your product needs per-customer access control.
• For S3 instead of Drive, see Upload a file to S3 from a URL.